Do we really enjoy what we do?
I wonder, if we took money, job security, future prospects out of the equation, would we really be heading to work every morning......
When I was living in India I was too young to notice what grown-ups looked like every morning heading to work . These days when I go to India on holidays I wake up past office hours, so I am still ignorant. Back in Kenya there is certain tranquility in the atmosphere that helps you sleep well and wake up fresh in the morning regardless of how hard you have worked all day long.
Melbourne tells a different story altogether. After moving to Melbourne it took me a while to find work. When I finally did, I began commuting to Lilydale from the city, as I was living in a backpackers in the city. What stands out in the early morning trains is how worn out people looked in the morning. Most look as if they have not slept in ages.
A few months passed and I found a job in the accounts office in a firm on Toorak road. My mode of commuting changed from train to tram. Early morning tram to Toorak is filled with over energetic school kids. This was a pleasant change from the sleepy faces I was used to seeing early morning. However, new revealations awaited at my new workplace. My accounts department had Louella Smith, a senior book keeper who worked three time a week, the Managing Director's wife and myself. There were other pripherals like the marketing lady and the MD's secretary. All these women spent the entire day discussing every thing under the sun, so much so that work was just a side show. I never quite made it to their cosy little group as I was not following the Australain Idol, Jessica Simpson reality show and did not know the MD's wife well enough to winge about her, besides its just not something I particularly enjoy.
I longed for a more intelligent environment. Few more months passed and I landed a job as an auditor in a chartered frim. This job was in the city so now I was walking to work! The environment here was more professional but again I noticed lack of enthusiasm at work. Browsing the net and spending 15 mins on the phone every 30 mins was the order of the day. My workmate who sat opposite me would call her mum every 10 minutes and say "what are you doin" ! This firm paid poorly and had rather unexciting clients.I felt may be the staff felt demotivated as they did not feel appreciated and challenged. I was pretty bored myself and decided it was time to move on.
Before I move on let me explain how the accounting world works. Most people just happen to be in this world. Probably because they were not science enthusiasts, sucked at literature, got pushed in to it by their parents especially if they are Indians ("Accountants make good money and are never without work") or none of the above -they just dint give their carrers much thought - I fall in the last category and most of the above! Now what do people in this world do - they start their accounting degrees, find some work as a vacationer, finish their degree, start working as grads in most probably the same firm, embark on their CA and work their way up the ladder. I am not sure what happens as they reach senior positions as I still have a long way to go and only had the opportunity to learn about people at my level or lower.
So I am in my new job now. This is a pretty high profile chartered firm. Everyone looks busy in the office and most of the time they are. We have very high profile clients. I personally found the tasks allocated to me quite overwhelming at first. Quite frankly in my new job there is no scarcity of challenging jobs. But what I have come to realise is that most people I have spoken too are not really enthusiastic about what they are doing.
My friend in the insolvency department tells me she wanted to study Human Geography at the Uni but did not manage to get admission in the course so she started a degree in Accounting. One thing led to another and she ended up in this firm as a vacationer and was then offered the job as a graduate. She is currently finishing her CA. It was interesting when she told me she wants to finish the CA so she can find a way to do masters in Human Geography!
My colleague is an avid traveller and is always itching to hit the road. Another friend in the insolvency has a masters in accounting, is finishing his CA and bored out of his mind with the profession. Another friend recently finished her vac work with a big firm and was offered a graduate position. She did not particularly enjoy the work and is unsure if she should follow her heart and take time off to explore life or be practical and finish her degree.........get trapped in the accounting world!
I am often confused too as I write reports on other people's reports or letters to lawyers asking for information that I can easily get over the phone (they want it all documented!). In addition, there is no creative satisfaction, only more paper!
So what is my point. At this stage I am using the accounting world as my reference because this is the world I live in. I feel most of us end up in the professions we are in because we dont take the time to find out what we really want. We are not entirely to blame because the world around us puts too much pressure on us to make a decision - quickly. We often go for the professions that will help us secure jobs relatively easily. Basically we go for what is in demand rather than what we want, which we often dont know. So its a catch 22! Time flies quickly too. Once you are in the workforce, its only a matter of time before you are in your late twenties and wondering - what am I looking forward to.
May be another job!
When I was living in India I was too young to notice what grown-ups looked like every morning heading to work . These days when I go to India on holidays I wake up past office hours, so I am still ignorant. Back in Kenya there is certain tranquility in the atmosphere that helps you sleep well and wake up fresh in the morning regardless of how hard you have worked all day long.
Melbourne tells a different story altogether. After moving to Melbourne it took me a while to find work. When I finally did, I began commuting to Lilydale from the city, as I was living in a backpackers in the city. What stands out in the early morning trains is how worn out people looked in the morning. Most look as if they have not slept in ages.
A few months passed and I found a job in the accounts office in a firm on Toorak road. My mode of commuting changed from train to tram. Early morning tram to Toorak is filled with over energetic school kids. This was a pleasant change from the sleepy faces I was used to seeing early morning. However, new revealations awaited at my new workplace. My accounts department had Louella Smith, a senior book keeper who worked three time a week, the Managing Director's wife and myself. There were other pripherals like the marketing lady and the MD's secretary. All these women spent the entire day discussing every thing under the sun, so much so that work was just a side show. I never quite made it to their cosy little group as I was not following the Australain Idol, Jessica Simpson reality show and did not know the MD's wife well enough to winge about her, besides its just not something I particularly enjoy.
I longed for a more intelligent environment. Few more months passed and I landed a job as an auditor in a chartered frim. This job was in the city so now I was walking to work! The environment here was more professional but again I noticed lack of enthusiasm at work. Browsing the net and spending 15 mins on the phone every 30 mins was the order of the day. My workmate who sat opposite me would call her mum every 10 minutes and say "what are you doin" ! This firm paid poorly and had rather unexciting clients.I felt may be the staff felt demotivated as they did not feel appreciated and challenged. I was pretty bored myself and decided it was time to move on.
Before I move on let me explain how the accounting world works. Most people just happen to be in this world. Probably because they were not science enthusiasts, sucked at literature, got pushed in to it by their parents especially if they are Indians ("Accountants make good money and are never without work") or none of the above -they just dint give their carrers much thought - I fall in the last category and most of the above! Now what do people in this world do - they start their accounting degrees, find some work as a vacationer, finish their degree, start working as grads in most probably the same firm, embark on their CA and work their way up the ladder. I am not sure what happens as they reach senior positions as I still have a long way to go and only had the opportunity to learn about people at my level or lower.
So I am in my new job now. This is a pretty high profile chartered firm. Everyone looks busy in the office and most of the time they are. We have very high profile clients. I personally found the tasks allocated to me quite overwhelming at first. Quite frankly in my new job there is no scarcity of challenging jobs. But what I have come to realise is that most people I have spoken too are not really enthusiastic about what they are doing.
My friend in the insolvency department tells me she wanted to study Human Geography at the Uni but did not manage to get admission in the course so she started a degree in Accounting. One thing led to another and she ended up in this firm as a vacationer and was then offered the job as a graduate. She is currently finishing her CA. It was interesting when she told me she wants to finish the CA so she can find a way to do masters in Human Geography!
My colleague is an avid traveller and is always itching to hit the road. Another friend in the insolvency has a masters in accounting, is finishing his CA and bored out of his mind with the profession. Another friend recently finished her vac work with a big firm and was offered a graduate position. She did not particularly enjoy the work and is unsure if she should follow her heart and take time off to explore life or be practical and finish her degree.........get trapped in the accounting world!
I am often confused too as I write reports on other people's reports or letters to lawyers asking for information that I can easily get over the phone (they want it all documented!). In addition, there is no creative satisfaction, only more paper!
So what is my point. At this stage I am using the accounting world as my reference because this is the world I live in. I feel most of us end up in the professions we are in because we dont take the time to find out what we really want. We are not entirely to blame because the world around us puts too much pressure on us to make a decision - quickly. We often go for the professions that will help us secure jobs relatively easily. Basically we go for what is in demand rather than what we want, which we often dont know. So its a catch 22! Time flies quickly too. Once you are in the workforce, its only a matter of time before you are in your late twenties and wondering - what am I looking forward to.
May be another job!